NBA Comparison: Michael Baptiste

Strengths: Wide bodied big man who improved by leaps and bounds as he got into better condition … Soft hands, nice touch around the basket … Improved his foot work as a back-to-the-basket player greatly … Competitor who shows a lot of toughness, will not back down from physical play … Can pass out of the post and double teams well … Has quick hands to get the occasional steal … Shot nearly 70% from the FT stripe as a senior … Got better on the defensive glass as he lost weight … Managed not to get fouls at a very high rate despite his physical presence in the post … Changed his diet and weighed in at 270 during his senior season, down from 340 when he started as a Spartan … Was a team captain and a fiery, emotional leader during his final year on the team … Surprisingly agile for his size, deceptive near the basket … Solid length, pesky defender and very difficult to post-up due to his strength … Deceptively quick feet laterally …

Weaknesses: While he has lost weight, his conditioning still can use work and is something that will have to be monitored relentlessly … Given his size was not an elite rebounder, left something to desire on both ends of the floor when it comes to hitting the boards … Speed well below average for even the center position … Below the rim player who gets very little lift … FG% went down quite a bit once he was asked to take more of an offensive role … Not ideal height or length for a center … Has not really displayed much ability to stretch the floor, limited to shooting near the basket … At times let his emotions get the better of him, needs to try and keep this under control, especially in game situations

Notes: Has size, talent and touch, even if he never got to really show the best of it in his college career … Leadership and overall chemistry with teammates, even through tiny bumps in the road, was impressive … Showed maturity in the way he handled himself after adversity … With continued work on conditioning, could definitely get some looks down the line … Does not seem ready for the NBA at this point, though once again with more work on conditioning, over time might be a possibility … Seems likely to either play in the D-League or Europe before hopefully putting things together for a shot at the NBA … 1990 born so lacks much upside …

Michael Visenberg 6/22/13